Duck, orange and beetroot salad

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for duck, orange and beetroot salad.

Jun 21, 2011 6:47am

By Lisa Featherby

Serves 4

30 mins preparation

2 hrs 15 mins cooking plus curing, cooling

Duck, orange and beetroot salad

This recipe presents the classic flavours of canard à l'orange in a modern salad. You'll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Ingredients

1 blood orange, segmented

2 golden shallots, thinly sliced

1 red witlof, leaves separated

35 gm roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (¼ cup)

Duck confit

40 gm sea salt flakes

1 sprig thyme

1 garlic clove, bruised

4 duck Marylands (about 1kg)

750 gm duck fat or goose fat, melted

Roast beetroot

4 each baby beetroot and baby golden beetroot

1 tsp olive oil

Orange vinaigrette

300 ml orange juice

60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

Method

Main

1

For duck confit, combine salt, thyme and garlic in a bowl, add duck, turn to coat, then place duck in a non-reactive container to fit snugly and refrigerate to cure (8-10 hours). Preheat oven to 140C. Brush excess salt from duck and place in a baking dish to fit snugly in a single layer, pour over fat to submerge, then bake until duck is very tender (1½-2 hours). Remove duck from fat, transfer to a non-reactive dish, then strain fat over, ensuring duck is completely submerged, cover and refrigerate until required. Confit will keep refrigerated, completely submerged in fat, in an airtight container for 1 month.

2

Meanwhile, for roast beetroot, increase oven to 200C. Place beetroot in a roasting pan, add 60ml water, drizzle with oil, season to taste and roast until tender (30 minutes). Set aside to cool slightly, then peel and halve beetroot and set aside.

3

Meanwhile, for orange vinaigrette, simmer orange juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 60ml (12-14 minutes), set aside to cool slightly, then whisk in oil and season to taste with sugar and salt.

4

Heat an ovenproof frying pan over high heat, place a piece of baking paper in pan, add duck skin-side down and cook until golden (2-3 minutes). Turn, then transfer to oven and cook until warmed through (5-7 minutes). Coarsely shred meat (discard bone), combine with remaining ingredients and beetroot in a large bowl, drizzle over vinaigrette, toss to combine and serve.

Notes

This recipe is from the July 2011 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.